The invention is based on a technique called Wavelength-Division-Multiplexing (WDM). Two different types of WDM-systems exist. The first type is called Dense-Wavelength-Division-Multiplexing (DWDM). In a DWDM system the laser chip in the laser diode of the transmitter is cooled by a peltier-element to keep the laser light source stable at a certain wavelength. The different wavelengths of different light sources at the transmitters of the DWDM system are closely spaced to each, typically between 50 GHz to 200 GHZ. DWDM systems are usually used in combination with optical amplifiers.
The second WDM system existing is Coarse-Wavelength-Division-Multiplexing (CWDM). CWDM is a technique that uses uncooled laser diodes for generating the different channels. The wavelength of such diodes is allowed to drift with temperature, which is compatible with the use of cheaper broadband filters. The complexity of the mechanical construction of the laser diode is reduced in comparison to laser diodes used in DWDM-systems.
One possible structure for an optical transmission system is at least one fibre pair ring. Said ring includes a number of nodes. Some nodes connect different rings with each other. Said nodes are called master nodes. Other nodes connect different endpoints, comprising users or subscribers, to the optical transmission system. Said nodes are connected to access rings of the system.
Fibre is a rare material in the city core network and two techniques or, rather, systems for transmitting information from one node to another is used. One system is a ring structure comprising electrical Time-Division-Multiplexing (TDM) add/drop multiplexers and the other system is DWDM rings with a hubbed add/drop structure.
In a TDM add/drop multiplexer ring structure, all nodes in the access ring are sharing the capacity that is made available by the master node. The maximum capacity is defined by the line interfaces of the nodes and all nodes have to have the same line interface. All traffic that is transported on the ring is terminated in each node, thus each node communicates with its direct neighbour. The logical and physical traffic structure is a ring. Due to the ring structure it is possible to protect the system in the transport protocol by using a two fibre ring infrastructure. This type of structure is implemented in the SDH/SONET, DTM, DPT and RPR standards.
In a DWDM an add/drop multiplexer ring structure, each access node is connected via its own wavelength to the master in the ring. Thus, the traffic pattern is a star with the master as a hub. DWDM systems are used as transportation systems, but this star topology suits mostly with an Ethernet star structure. If the number of nodes is increased in the ring an amplifier has to be used to compensate the losses in the optical add/drop filters.
From European Patent Application EP 1 063 803 A1 is a CWDM optical ring network earlier known. A dual-ring, bi-directional optical fibre transmission system interconnects a series of add/drop nodes with a hub, such that multiple, widely spaced CWDM channels are established on each ring. At each node, an optical add/drop module (OADM) includes broadband filters, such as dielectric thin film filters. Said filters are arranged to (a) extract, for the purposes of a receiver, or (b) insert, for the purposes of a transmitter, information in one or more of the channels. The signals in the one or more channels are coupled to the OADM's by a standard optical transceiver, which performs modulation and demodulation. Even though the physical topology, or structure, of the network is a ring topology, the logical topology, even called virtual topology, is a star. This means that endpoints at each of the nodes communicate with other endpoints connected to the hub. If desired, the hub in this known system can be configured to allow for selected CWDM channel optical by-pass, thereby enabling a direct connection between a pair of add/drop nodes on the ring. This connection is characterised as a point-to-point link. This means that only two points could be directly connected to each other for each wavelength used in the network system at a time. This causes a limitation in the possibility to increase the number of nodes and the capacity of this known network.